The Worm and the Apple; Down by the Station: The M.T.A.'s Tunnel Vision

Published: February 12, 1989

In its zeal to demolish rundown subway newsstands and stores, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority ignores the se-curity, convenience and life that concessions can provide. That earns the M.T.A. a big worm.

In 1987, 42 of the subway system's 97 newsstands were closed when the company running them was cited for tax evasion. But instead of seeking new operators, the M.T.A. last spring sent wrecking crews. The M.T.A. has also evicted many small businesses from the Times Square station, the shuttle station at Grand Central and other major stops.

Responding to criticism, the agency promised to replace many of the lost newsstands and add new ones. But nearly a year has passed and not one new newsstand has opened.

Even more troubling, the M.T.A. has yet to apply for $25 million in Federal grants that the Urban Mass Transportation Administration has earmarked to encourage subway concessions. The money is badly needed: the M.T.A. has set expensive guidelines for the design of new newsstands. Cost now discourages responsible operators from bidding.

M.T.A. officials explain their assault on subway concessions on the grounds that they want to improve esthetics, security and pedestrian traffic. But especially in off hours, the result is to make New York's underground seem all the more forbidding.